A little late getting around to closing out my RIJF posts, so the commentary will be short. Ibrahim Electric had been compared in the guide and in the paper to MMW, the Bad Plus, and Soulive. MMW? Marginally... Bad Plus? Not even close. Soulive was the closest comparison, but these guys were much better in my opinion. And by better I mean more interesting. I thought they were more rock than jazz if we really wanted to get technical, the drummer was certainly rocking it, the B3 played more toward a psychedelic slant than the swinging jazzy sound, and the guitarist was all over the map. At any rate, they were good enough to drag a bunch of people over for the late set, a whole lot of fun. It was the first time in the US for the Danes, but hopefully they'll make it back soon and often, I think they could get a nice following here.
After Ibrahim's early set I stopped at Jazz Street for a Java's sandwich and checked out some from the new local buzzworthy reggae giants of the Lawnmowers. They played a great Presence of the Lord, followed by shaky Stones cover. The reggae tunes worked the best, whereas some of the rocking stuff fell flat. These guys could slink into a nice reggae groove and Ron Stackman's voice is a great combination of unique and wonderful. Would love to catch these guys in a smaller setting and for a longer set.
Mark Stuart and the Bastard Sons closed out the Abilene stage in style. They played the type of music that convinces me I like country music more than I think or say I do. Sadly it was one of the smallest crowds I saw at Abilene all week. Guess it was tough to compete with all of the free music happening on the final day.
Before catching the late set of the rocking B3 trio Ibrahim Electric, settled in on Jazz Street to take in a more traditional organ trio from New Orleans. Joe Krown, Walter Wolfman Washington, and Russell Batiste Jr. laid down what was by far the best music out of that area I heard all week. Twas a real treat.
Until next year Rochester Jazz Fest...
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